After The War
by Anonx3
Summary: My version of what happens after the Battle of Hogwarts. Centered on my OTP, Harry and Ginny. Rated M for future scenes. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1 Ginny

_This is my first story ever, so please review and let me know what you all think! _

_Harry & Ginny are my OTP_

_Obviously I do not own anything HP related, though I wish I did._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>1. Ginny<strong>

Harry was standing in front of a foggy mirror. He had finally been able to take a shower, but his reflection in the mirror had stopped him from changing into the pair of pajamas Hermione had given him. He noticed the bruise on his chest and, for some reason, he couldn't stop staring it at it. The skin was almost black and it hurt terribly when touched.

"Great" he groaned. The bruise was right on top where his heart is, right where Voldemort had hit him with the killing curse. Knowing that nothing but time was going to make his bruise disappear, he only applied the little essence of Dittany left on the bottle Hermione had taken with her all these months, to the many cuts he had all over his body. He was glad to see most of them looked like they weren't going to leave a scar, he already had enough with the one on his forehead, and the one Slytherin's locket had left on his chest. The burn he got in Gringotts while trying to escape had almost completely disappeared too. Once he was done applying the medicine, he looked at himself in the mirror again. He had lost a lot of weight, but he knew Mrs. Weasley was going to take care of that no matter what Harry told her, so he didn't worry too much about that. Hermione had given him and Ron a haircut not too long ago, but he was definitely going to need one soon. He didn't bother shaving, he still just had a scruff, not an actual beard, and he kind of liked it. Something that was very obvious was that he didn't look that a child anymore, he was completely different from how he left the Burrow many months ago. With a sigh, he changed into his pajamas and dried his hair with a towel, combed his hair a little but then shook his head to make his hair go back to his usual messy look.

Even though he was extremely tired and sore, he did not go to bed. His mind wouldn't stop replaying over and over again, everything that had happened just hours ago. He knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep so instead he walked to the common room. The curtains had been shut, and a small fire was burning in the chimney. He walked up to his favorite chair, ready for another sleepless night, but he was surprised to find someone already sleeping on it. Her knees were up to her chest, her hair still wet from the shower she had taken covering her face. He smiled at her but it quickly disappeared how much weight she had lost since he last saw her, and the dark circles that had appear under her eyes. She seemed to be having a nightmare, she was breathing hard and furrowed her eyebrows a little. Harry kneeled next to her and grabbed her hand. She jumped at his touch and opened her eyes, obviously scared,.

"Ginny, I'm sorry" he told her "I didn't mean to scare you"

"Harry" she whispered and then began to cry.

"Ginny, no" he begged standing up and pulling her into his arms "Please don't cry"

"I thought you were dead" she sobbed "I thought I had lost you forever…"

She couldn't continue talking; a knot had formed in her throat, her hands gripping Harry by his t-shirt. Harry hugged her tightly and kissed his head, tears falling from his eyes too.

"I had to" he tried to explain "I had to act dead, it was the only way I could go back to you and save you all… Please, Ginny, forgive me"

They stayed quiet for a few moments; Ginny started taking deep breaths, trying to control herself. Harry sat down on the chair and pulled her with him. She sat on his legs, her head leaning on his shoulder, her legs hanging over the armrest.

"No, I'm sorry" she said still tearing up "It's just that it happened right after Fred, and I was barely hanging on anymore. And there you were, in Hagrid's arms, looking so lifeless" she started crying harder again and Harry hugged her tighter, kissing her head.

"Everything is over, Ginny" he whispered to her "And I'm here, willing to be by your side and try to make you happy?

"How can I know you won't leave again and leave me behind?" Harry knew Ginny had said this with no intentions of hurting him, that it was an actual fear of her, but he could not stop the pain in his chest. He now realized how much he had hurt her by leaving, by not communicating with her. She understood though, she knew he only wanted to protect her, but it didn't change the fact that it had hurt her.

"I promise you I won't" he said to her "I know I've hurt you, I know it's been terrible, but trust me, I've missed you so much. There wasn't anything I wanted more than being with you, protect you. I missed you so much it hurt, and I don't ever want to be away from you again"

"Really?" she asked in a whisper

"Yes, I swear" he looked at her in the eyes "I sometimes would spend my nights just staring at your name in the Marauder's map, just wishing I could be there with you, but I couldn't and it was so frustrating and painful… I knew that if I tried to contact you, I would put you in a lot of danger, and if anything would have happened to you because of me, I would have never forgiven myself."

"Harry" she said and buried her face on his neck. He kissed her head again and breathed in her flowery scent "I missed you just as much, I wanted to be with you, and there were so many rumors of you being dead, or other things… It was so hard"

"That's in the past now" he told her "Now we have each other. I want to be with you, Ginny. For as long as you want me, I want to be your boyfriend again, and just make you happy"

Ginny didn't answer but instead kissed him fully on the mouth. Harry answered to the kiss hungrily, barely breathing, trying to put in the kiss what words couldn't explain, trying to let her know how important she was to him. When they finally separated, they looked at each other and smiled. Ginny placed a hand on his chest and he groaned, she had put pressure on his bruise by accident.

"What's wrong?" she asked worried.

"A bruise" he said. Ginny lifted and eyebrow, and before he could stop her, she lifted his shirt. She gasped when she saw the huge bruise on his chest. "It's nothing, don't worry"

"Nothing? Harry, this looks horrible" she said "Have you put something on it?"

"Nothing will cure it but time" he said "It happened when Voldemort hit me with the killing curse"

"How did you survive?" she asked quietly

"It's a long story, Ginny. It'd take hours for me to explain everything" he said

"Then you owe me" she smiled, then leaned and kissed his bruise gently "Maybe that will help"

"It did" he said with a smile "Than you. No one has ever done that for me"

"Then I will, from now on, kiss you where it hurts" she smiled at him and kissed him on his cheek.

"Why are you so perfect?" he whispered making her laugh

"I'm not" she said with a smile

"You are to me"

"And you to me"

Ginny snuggled carefully, trying not to touch his bruise, and closed his eyes. Harry played with her hair for a long time. While looking at her, he noticed she was wearing a pair of boy pajamas he recognized as an old pair he left back in the Burrow before escaping with Ron and Hermione.

"I like your new pajamas" he whispered

"They smelled like you" she answered without opening her eyes and with a small smile "When I saw you had left them in the Burrow I kept them, and wore them when I was too scared"

"You are definitely perfect" he said to her and kissed her forehead. She slowly fell asleep in his arms. When Harry felt like he couldn't stay up any longer, he picked her up and walked upstairs to the girls dormitories with the intentions of tucking her in her bed, but stopped before going in, remembering the spells that had been put there to keep boys away. "How am I going to get you in bed?"

"Don't let Ron hear you" said a voice behind him. He turned around and found Hermione smiling.

"I didn't mean it like that" he whispered embarrassed "I meant leaving her in her bed to sleep and I go to mine"

"I know" Hermione answered in a low voice "I was looking for her, so I went to your room thinking she might be there, but when I didn't find you two there I was going to go look in the common room, until I heard you"

"We were just talking" he said "She accepted me back"

"Of course she did" Hermione smiled "You two love each other, even if you don't know how much yet" Harry smiled broadly because he knew Hermione was right "Follow me"

"What about the spells?" Harry asked

"They are not working anymore" Hermione explained "I guess the battle made many spells stop working"

"How do you know they don't work?"

"Ron came looking for his clothes" Hermione said, and started walking. Harry followed her "By the time he remembered the spells he was already in my room"

"Lucky him" Harry laughed but Hermione ignored him

"Ginny can sleep in my room" she said "It's empty and I don't want to sleep alone"

"Just lead the way"

Hermione went up the stairs for a little more and then opened a door to their right. The room was indeed empty. She pointed at a bed next to hers and Harry tucked Ginny in, kissing her forehead before closing the bed's curtains.

"Get some rest, Harry" Hermione told him "You look terrible"

"You too" he laughed "Thank you for helping me get her here"

"Any time" she hugged Harry and then got in bed. Harry walked out of the room and left the girl's dormitories behind. When he got to his own room, he found Ron sleeping already. The other beds were empty, so he guessed Neville, Seamus, and Dean had left with their families already. He took out his glasses and put them on his nightstand, next to his wand. He got in bed and was glad by how familiar it felt. For the first time in months, Harry fell asleep with a smile on his face, and did not have any nightmares.


	2. Chapter 2  Some Explaining to Do

_And now, Chapter 2. Please review and let me know what you think!_

**2. Some Explaining to Do**

When Harry woke up he found the room completely empty. He grabbed his glass and stood up to look out the window, the sun was still out but it should be setting soon. He stretched as much as he could without causing too much pain on himself, his body was really sore. He picked up clothes that had been left at the bottom of his bed and walked to the bathroom. He decided to take a quick shower to see it'd help his muscles, and then quickly changed. He guessed everyone was in the Great Hall eating since he didn't see anyone around the common room or in the destroyed hallways. It hurt him to see his loved school like this, but hoped that it could be fixed soon. When he opened the doors to the Great Hall, he was surprised by how empty it was, it seemed like almost everyone had left already, like Neville and the others. Only the Weasleys were sitting down in Gryffindor's table. He walked up to them in silence, taking a seat next to Ginny who hadn't really touched her food.

"How are you?" he whispered to her and she only gave him a sad smile. He looked around and noticed all of the Weasley had the same sad expression on their faces. Harry felt stupid for thinking that maybe they would be feeling better, he knew how they felt. After losing Sirius, he didn't feel better for a long time, and even today, it still hurt him. He sighed and grabbed Ginny's hand under the table and kissed her head "It's going to take time, but it'll get better"

"I hope" she whispered back. He ate in silence, catching Hermione trying to cheer up Ron too without any results. She gave Harry a worried look but he did not know how to answer. He felt extremely useless for not being able to help.

They ate in silence and once the food had disappeared from their plates, they just waited for someone to start talking and break the silence.

"We will be going to the Burrow today" said Mr. Weasley "Harry and Hermione, we will more than happy to have you at home with us"

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley" said Hermione and Mrs. Weasley smiled at them.

"Fleur and I will go back to Shell Cottage" said Bill

"Charlie and I will be staying with Fred" said Percy who seemed like he hadn't slept at all "We want to make sure the store hasn't been broken into and well, George will need us"

George looked the worse. He has big dark circles under his eyes which were red and swollen. He had obviously not slept at all though he looked exhausted. Harry couldn't even imagine what he was going through, losing his twin. Fred and him were always together, lived and worked together… It was going to take him a long time for him to go back to normal, or as normal as he could.

"We'll pass by the Burrow a lot though, mum" said Charlie who had noticed her mother's sad expression "Don't worry about that"

"Thank you, dear" said Mrs. Weasley

"Kingsley asked us to tell you three he was going to need to talk to you three" said Mr. Weasley looking at Ron, Harry and Hermione "You too, Ginny"

"Me?" asked Ginny surprised and Mr. Weasley nodded with his head

"You can go to McGonagall's office, they'll be waiting"

The four friends stood up and walked together through the hallways to McGonagall's office. When the knocked on the door, she let them in and told them to sit. Kingsley was there too and smiled broadly at them.

"There's a lot of explaining to do" he said with a chuckle "In order for me and Minerva to try to help you scape the consequences of many of your actions, we need to hear what happened"

"It's important, especially because of what happened at Gringotts" McGonagall said

"It's a very long story" Harry said and both Ron and Hermione nodded with their heads

"Then we better hurry" said Kingsley

With the help of his friends, Harry started explaining everything as detailed as he could. He explained how Dumbledore taught him about Voldemort and his past, how Voldemort learned about Horcruxes and how he made six, which lead to Dumbledore looking for them and destroying the ring, which turned his hand black and was going to kill him in a year.

"Professor Snape was innocent" he said and everyone looked at him surprised

"What do you mean?" ask McGonagall with a low voice

"When professor Dumbledore destroyed the ring, a curse entered his body; he was going to kill him. He made Snape swear he was going to be the one to kill him, because Dumbledore knew Voldemort has ordered Draco Malfoy to get rid of him. He didn't want Draco to do it, but he knew Voldemort would have killed the Malfoys if he didn't, so he made Snape swear he was going to do it instead of Draco"

"How do you know this?" asked Kingsley

"When Snape was dying, he asked me to take his memories" he explained "I saw them in the pensieve… He's always been on our side. He always tried to protect me… He loved my mother, ever since they were kids. He begged Dumbledore to protect us all, and when Voldemort killed my parents, he protected me. He might've not liked me or my father, but he loved my mother enough to risk his life to protect me." Ginny grabbed his hands and he squeezed hers "He wasn't the nicest person, but he was good"

"I can't believe it…" whispered Hermione.

Harry sighed and continued explaining what the trio did all these months. They explained how they broke into the Ministry after discovering Umbridge had the Slytherin locket because the one Dumbledore and Harry found months before was a fake. When they got to the part where they spent weeks in the forest, hungry and frustrated, Ron started speaking. He explained how left and tried to come back but was impossible to locate Harry or Hermione because of their protective charms. Hermione grabbed his hand while he talked; she understood how much it hurt him to remember how he had walked out on them. He then explained how he saw Harry jump in a pool of freezing water. Harry started speaking again and told McGonagall and Kingsley about Snape's silver doe and the sword of Gryffindor.

Everyone was listening in silence, only Hermione and Ron will cut in sometimes to add to Harry's story. It was a lot of explaining to do, and they wanted to be as honest as possible. They explained everything that had happened at Luna's house, the Deathly Hallows, Malfoy's Manor and how they came with the theory that a horcrux was hidden in Gringotts, which explained the break in. Hermione finished telling what happened at Hogwarts, how they destroyed the cup in the Chamber of Secrets, and how they found Harry and the tiara.

Harry started speaking again, explained how he discovered, through Snape's memories, that he had to die and why, how he walked to the Forbidden Forest and allowed Voldemort to kill him. Ginny was tearing up again, so was Hermione and McGonagall seemed to be holding tears. He finished and stayed quiet. No one said anything for a long time, they were letting Harry's words to sink in.

"Seems like we have a lot of work to do then" said Kingsley "We'll make sure Snape's name is clean, and we'll deal with Gringotts as soon as possible"

"I don't want people knowing about Horcruxes" said Harry

"Of course not" McGonagall said "We won't tell anyone"

"Now, Miss Weasley" said Kingsley "We know of the crimes the Carrows committed while being here. Eventually, we will need your testimony in the Wizengamot so they can be properly punished"

"Sure" Ginny said

"There isn't much to say now. Miss Granger, like I told you, I will personally arrange your visit to Australia. I will contact you with the details"

"Thank you, so much" Hermione smiled.

"Go on then" McGonagall smiled at them "We don't want to delay your departure"

"Thank you, for everything, Professor" Harry said to McGonagall and gave her a hug. She hugged him back for a long time.

"I am very proud, of all you" she said with tears in her eyes

"And so am I" said Kingsley with a smile

The four friends nodded with their head and walked out of the office together. They didn't speak while they walked through the empty and destroyed hallways of their beloved school. Ron and Hermione were holding hands, so were Ginny and Harry. Outside, the sun had set already and it seemed peaceful outside.

"It seems so weird" Ginny said suddenly "less than a day ago we were getting ready to fight… Now it is all over"

"Maybe we will finally be able to have a peaceful life" said Ron

"It won't be easy" Hermione said

"But we'll make it" Harry added. Ginny stopped and kissed him, Ron rolled his eyes which made Hermione laugh. Then they all laughed together for a while, and continued walking to collect their stuff and finally go back to the Burrow.


	3. Chapter 3 The Burrow

_And chapter 3 is here!  
>Just so you all know, I won't always be able to update this fast, work and school keep me really busy but I'll try to update it as much and fast as possible. Again, please review and let me know what you think. And thank you so much to those who already have.<em>

_Enjoy!_

**3. The Burrow**

The Weasleys, Harry and Hermione were standing around an old newspaper. They had landed in the grounds of the Burrow and were still trying to regain their balance. Harry looked up and anger engulfed him when he saw the old house. Someone, most likely Death Eaters, had searched the house in such a violent way that many windows were broken, the small garage and the chicken coop had been burned down. Some furniture had been thrown out to the garden, including Ginny's desk. Harry was angry, the Weasleys did not deserve this, no one did. He loved this house as much as they did and it hurt him to see it like this.

"Seems like we have a lot of work ahead of us" said Mr. Weasley holding his wife's hand. Mrs. Weasley had tears in her eyes but smiled at her husband. "Come one, let's start working for a while, then we can go to sleep and we'll continue tomorrow"

"Dad, do you know if the ghoul is still in my room?" asked Ron

"No, it's not" answered Ginny "Charlie got rid of it before we all moved to Aunt Muriel's house. He's back in your attic"  
>Ron smiled; he really didn't want to deal with his ghoul. They walked together to the house and entered through the kitchen. Pots were on the floor and some chairs were broken, but besides that, the kitchen was fine. Mr. Weasley started fixing the chairs and Mrs. Weasley picked up the pots and started to cook, the only way she was going to be able to relax and forget about everything for a while. Mr. Weasley whispered to Ron and Harry to go upstairs and work on their rooms. They walked upstairs with Ginny and Hermione behind them and stopped in the second floor.<p>

"I'll help Ginny with her room" said Harry simply and Ginny smiled.

"Come on, Ron" said Hermione rolling her eyes at his expression

"Maybe you should help Ginny, Hermione" he said

"Ron, really, don't start" Ginny said "You go with Hermione and I'll stay with Harry. I think you can trust both of us by now"

"Fine" he said and then pointed a finger at Harry "You better behave"

"I can say the same for you" Harry laughed.

Hermione rolled her eyes once more and then dragged Ron by the hand to his room. Ginny opened the door of her room and sighed. It had been completely searched. The mattress was on the floor, her desk chair was broken, books, papers, and pictures were on the floor. Harry put an arm around her and kissed her head.

"I'm sorry" he whispered to her

"It's okay" she said "At least we can fix it"

Harry helped her pick up the mattress and to make her bed, while she picked up her books and pictures, he levitated the desk up to her room through the open window and put it in place, then he fixed her chair and put it in place too. Ginny started organizing her pictures again and he noticed how many of his she had. Usually with Ron and Hermione, but she also had some of the two of them alone. His favorite was one of them holding hands by the black lake in Hogwarts. They weren't looking at the camera though, they were looking at each other, and Ginny had a big smile on her face. Harry grabbed the framed pictures in his hands and stared at it for a while.

"Colin Creevey took it" Ginny said standing next to him "He gave it to me after Dumbledore's funeral"

"I love it" Harry said "I wish I had a copy of all these pictures"

"I have them" Ginny kneeled next to her desk and waved her wand. A piece of wood lifted off the floor showing a whole stuffed with things wrapped in paper. Ginny took them all off there and put them on the floor. Harry sat in front of her and watched her take unwrap pictures, old quidditch cloaks that belonged to her, Ron and Harry. "When my parents told me we were leaving to Muriel's, I knew I couldn't take all of these things, so I hid them. I barely had time to hide most of the pictures, but I'm glad to see that the one I left here are fine"

"You're so smart, Ginny" he said as she handed him a bunch of pictures

"You can have these, they are copies of mine" she smiled "Colin took a lot of pictures of both of us, though I had never noticed him around"

"He had a way to take pictures without anyone noticing" Harry said sadly. Colin had died during the war, so young and brave. It wasn't fair. Ginny reached for his hand and he grabbed hers.

"We'll make sure everyone remembers him" she said "Him and all the others."

"We will" Harry smiled at her. They stood up and continued putting stuff away. Ginny opened her closet and started fixing her clothes while Harry looked at her not knowing what to do. He sat on the recently made bed and waited for her to finish.

"Not interested in looking at my knickers?" she laughed and Harry blushed

"I… didn't think you'd want me to" he said

"And you are correct" she said with a smile "Thanks for respecting that. I'm pretty sure my brother Ron is not as smart when it comes down to that. Wouldn't surprise me if he's trying to look at Hermione's"

"Okay, ew" said Harry and Ginny laughed "I do not want to hear that"

"Oh, but you will. Ron will come to you for advice" she smiled

"I really hope he doesn't" Harry said "Besides, is not like I'm an expert"

"You are great" Ginny walked up to him and kissed him. He leaned back on the bed and pulled her with him without separating their mouths. She giggled and positioned herself on top of him, her knees on each side of him, her long hair falling to her side. Harry's hands were on her waist and he slowly lowered them to her hips. Ginny let her tongue touch his lips and he groaned with pleasure.

"I'm crazy about you, do you know that?" he said to her

"Really?" she smiled "That's good to know because I'm crazy about you"

She leaned forward again and continued kissing him passionately. Harry pushed her lightly to her side so he could be on top and started kissing her neck, she put her hands under his shirt and explored his chest carefully, trying to avoid his bruise.

"I love you, Ginny" he whispered in her ear

"I love you too" she smiled at him. He laid next to her, trying to catch his breath and calm himself, realizing they were in the Burrow and that Ginny's parents or Ron could walk in on them any time. "Can you sleep with me tonight?"

"Sleep?" he asked cautiously

"Yes, sleep" Ginny laughed "Just sleep"

"What about your parents? And Ron?"

"You are going to be sleeping in Percy's room" she said "that's right on top of mine"

"Yes, but they might hear me come down"

"Not if we use Muffliato and you apparate here and then back in your room early in the morning" she explained

"Okay, we'll do that" Harry smiled

Ginny smiled and kissed him again, but stopped when she heard her mother call them all for dinner. They walked downstairs and ate with the others.

"Harry, you can sleep in Percy's old room" Mrs. Weasley told him "And Hermione, I think Bill's old room would be perfect for you, it has a nice view"

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley" smiled Hermione. Bill's room was just under Ron's.

"You can go to be if you want. We won't wake you up early tomorrow. I think we all need a lot of hours to sleep" Mr. Weasley said with a yawn. They helped Mrs. Weasley clean the plates and everyone walked to their rooms.

"Harry, Hermione, Ron has your clothes in your room. They are in your armoire, Ron." Ginny told them

"Thank you, Ginny" Hermione said "We really need to get out of these"

"We are definitely going to need new clothes" said Ron

"We'll worry about all that later" said Harry. He kissed Ginny in her forehead and smiled "Goodnight, see you tomorrow"

"See you" Ginny smiled "Goodnight"

Ginny turned around and went in her room. Ron, Harry and Hermione kept on walking upstairs. They went to Ron's room to look for their clothes. It wasn't a lot, but it was going to be enough for them to last at least a couple of weeks before having to get almost a whole new wardrobe.

"Harry, I want to talk to you about something" Ron said suddenly "You know you are my best mate and everything, but if you hurt Ginny…"

"I won't" Harry cut in with a serious expression "You know how I feel about her, so I won't"

"Well, then… good" his friend said uncomfortably "Is just that, she's my baby sister and I don't want to see her hurt"

"You won't, I can promise you that" Hermione smiled at both of them "And I can tell you the same thing about Hermione. She's like a sister to me, so be careful"

Ron nodded with his head and Hermione hugged Harry. They all walked downstairs again, stopping in the fourth floor, in front of Percy's room and Harry said goodnight to his friends. Hermione was going to be sleeping in the room in front of Percy's, and Harry definitely didn't want to see her and Ron say goodnight to each other. He walked in the room, closing the door behind him, and put his clothes away except for his pajamas. He changed and laid down on the bed with his hands under his head. He waited patiently for everyone to go to bed and for the house to get really quiet. Almost an hour after going in his room, he stood up again and casted Muffliato around his room. He pointed his wand at the floor and casted it again, hoping it would surround Ginny's room. He concentrated and disapparated from his room just to apparate seconds later on Ginny's. He caught her changing, her back was to him, and she didn't have any covering her upper body, and only really small shorts on. Harry blushed and turned around.

"I'm sorry" he said. Ginny laughed and put her top on.

"You can turn around now" she told him. Harry did, still red, and gave her a smile. Even though she had lost a lot of weight, she still looked beautiful to her. She was petite, almost a head shorter than Harry, thin, and with soft white skin. He walked up to her and hugged her. Ginny leaned her head on Harry's chest and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm glad you are here"

"Me too" they walked to the bed and laid down together. She snuggled close to him and he kissed her forehead. "I love you"

"Me too" she closed her eyes and soon she fell asleep. Harry watched her for a while until he fell asleep himself, thinking about how lucky he was for having Ginny next to him, and for being able to live the life he always wanted.


End file.
